BLM Releases Public Comments on Transmission Project

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is making available the public comments it received for the Energy Gateway West Transmission Line Project. This is a compilation of all comments received during the public comment period on the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The comments are available online at the project website: www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/cfodocs/gateway_west.

The BLM hosted four open house meetings in Wyoming and 13 open house meetings in Idaho to answer questions about the DEIS. A total of 598 people attended the open houses. Comments were submitted to the BLM in comment forms, letters, and emails from diverse interests, including federal, state, and local governments, landowners and other citizens. BLM received 371 comment submittals resulting in approximately 2,600 comments.

Although comments are welcome and encouraged at any time during EIS preparation, BLM requested them to be received or postmarked by the end of the 90-day comment period, or Oct. 28, 2011. All comments received are being reviewed and analyzed, and will help the BLM prepare the Final EIS.

The Energy Gateway West Transmission Line project is a 230-kilovolt (kV) and 500-kV alternating current transmission line originating at the Windstar Substation at Glenrock, Wyo., and the Hemingway Substation approximately 30 miles southwest of Boise, Idaho, spanning approximately 1,100 miles.

It is proposed by Rocky Mountain Power and Idaho Power. The transmission line will allow for the delivery of up to 3,000 megawatts (MW) of energy. For more information, contact Walt George, BLM project manager, at 307-775-6116.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2014, the BLM generated $5.2 billion in receipts from public lands.